


Rewritten

by giantpanda



Series: What if... [1]
Category: The Good Doctor (TV 2017)
Genre: Canon Rewrite, F/M, Fix-It
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-29
Updated: 2020-06-03
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:33:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,153
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24439750
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/giantpanda/pseuds/giantpanda
Summary: An emergency surgery prevents Neil from attending the fundraiser at the brewery.
Relationships: Claire Browne/Neil Melendez
Series: What if... [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1799092
Comments: 52
Kudos: 103





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> This is my idea of what could've happened if Neil hadn't been at the fundraiser and the impact that would have on his relationship with Claire.

Neil had been a surgeon long enough that he knew that it sometimes interfered with his plans. He was frustrated that he wasn’t at the fundraiser at the brewery like he had promised Marta. Unfortunately, another patient had a crisis that he had to deal with. As he headed into the locker room to change, he calculated how long it would be before he got there. He knew it was better to be late, than not attend at all. As a former patient, he knew that Marta would understand.

As he opened his locker, his cell phone rang. Seeing Audrey’s name, he answered.

“Hey,” he said.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

He frowned, “I’m fine. I was just getting ready to head out.”

“You’re not at the fundraiser?”

“No.”

“There was an earthquake. We don’t know how many casualties. I thought you were supposed to be there tonight.”

“I was. Aaron should be there too. Try calling him,” He shut his locker and left the locker room. “I’ll be down in the ER in a minute.”

He hung up the phone and took a deep breath. His annoyance at having the emergency surgery forgotten, he instead felt guilty that Aaron could be injured, and he wasn’t there to help him. Shaking his head, he pushed the feelings away. Now was the time to help others. 

He walked into the ER as Lim was explaining the situation to the doctors and nurses. She was sending them to the brewery. 

“Glassman and Melendez are there,” he heard Claire say.

He walked over to stand next to Audrey, making eye contact with Claire. He watched as she sighed in relief before focusing back on their instructions. He wished that he could go talk to her, but he knew that time was of the essence. While they still maintained that their relationship was platonic, even he could admit that the boundaries were blurry. Ever since he had told her that she made him a better person and surgeon, and she had ended things with Dash, he felt like they were teetering on the edge of something more.

As they got ready to leave, him and Audrey discussed the plan. He will go with them to help survey the damage and then return with the first or second round of transport to help with the surgeries at the hospital.

He followed Claire into the ambulance, sitting beside her. He could feel her anxiety and nervousness. He wished that he could reach out and take her hand, but they are surrounded by coworkers, and in the middle of a disaster, the last thing they needed was to start any rumors.

“It’s hard to believe Jack’s crisis is all that kept me away from being at the brewery.”

She turned to look at him. 

“I’m really glad you weren’t there,” she said softly.

He nodded. He folded his hands in his lap so he wouldn’t reach out to her. He saw the tears in her eyes. He hated to be the cause of her pain.

“You just want me to teach you to bowl better,” he said, relieved when she smiled.

“I’m not that bad,” she responded rolling her eyes.

He made a face. “You’re probably the worst I’ve ever seen. I mean it’s a good thing you went into medicine.”

He teased her some more as they pulled up to the brewery. He climbed out of the ambulance and looked around at the destruction. He reached behind him to help Claire down, he watched her as she took in their surroundings. While he knew the residents had practiced disaster drills before, they had been lucky never to need it. He held her hand a moment longer than he should.

“You got this,” he said softly. “Just go one person at a time and come find me if you need anything.”

“Thanks,” she said squeezing his hand.

He watched as she took a deep breath and moved towards the building. He pushed down the desire to tell her to wait to treat the people who had already been evacuated. The building still looked unstable and he wanted to know she was safe. With a sigh, he followed her inside.

He wanted to keep an eye on her, but the chaos soon overwhelmed him. He moved quickly as he could to assess the various people. He was relieved to see Glassman helping people as well. He vaguely heard Shaun mention something about his friend Lea and then he disappeared. He hoped he wouldn’t do anything reckless.

He continued to help everyone that he could, as they stabilized those they could to send to the hospital for further treatment. He knew he would have to soon return to the hospital to begin helping with all the additional surgeries. 

Just as he was getting ready to head out with his current patient, he heard Claire call his name. He motioned for a paramedic to go with his patient and walked to Claire. He quickly scanned her for any injuries. She led him over to Marta who was pinned under a large beam.

He listened as she quickly explained the situation, and how Shaun had noticed that if they moved her, they risked paralyzing her. He looked around.

“Where did he go?”

“He went to look for Lea.”

Neil realized that when this was over, they would need to talk to Shaun about following protocol. Although if it was Claire that was missing, he couldn’t say he wouldn’t do the same thing. 

Focusing instead on Marta, he asked Claire, “What do you think?”

“I think we have to do the surgery here.”

He explained the risks to Marta and Noreen. “Claire’s right, we don’t have a choice.”

He went with Claire to collect what they needed. He was concerned about surgery in this situation, but Marta was insisting that she didn’t want to be paralyzed so she could enjoy the rest of her life with her wife. With the potential risks, he was relieved to have Claire at his side. There was no one he trusted more.

Once they had everything set up, they began the surgery. While the conditions weren’t ideal, he was able to focus on Marta and what needed to be done. As always, things were easy with Claire. When the area started filling with blood and he couldn’t see from where, she figured it out.

Frowning, he expressed his concern about blood loss and needing to find a way to set up a transfusion. Claire told him she had an idea and disappeared.

He tried to talk with Noreen to keep her calm as they waited. He was curious about what Claire was up to, and worried about taking too long to finish the procedure.

A few minutes later, Claire returned carrying a beer engine with tubing. She instructed him to put the tubes into the cavity and explained that they were going to pump Marta’s blood back into her.

“You made a cell saver out of a beer engine?” he said, unable to hide his amazement. 

She smiled at him as she began pumping. He wasn’t surprised when it worked perfectly.

“That’s incredible,” said Noreen.

“Spend enough time around Dr. Browne, you get used to incredible,” he said with a smile.

He made eye contact with Claire and he felt the tension between them. Maybe when all of this was over, they could deal with whatever was happening between them, but for now they had to focus on their patient. Now, with the risk of blood loss minimized he quickly finished the procedure. He handed Noreen the screw.

They quickly moved Marta to a gurney to transport her back to the hospital. He would be going with her to start helping with the patients who were at the hospital.

He smiled at Claire as they loaded Marta into the ambulance. “Nice work in there.”

“Thanks. You too.”

“I didn’t create a cell saver from a beer engine.”

She laughed. “We can’t all be brilliant.”

He winked at her as he climbed into the ambulance. “Be careful. I’ll see you back at the hospital.”

He watched as Marta and Noreen talked softly together. He settled down on the bench and gave himself a minute to breath. The ambulance started shaking as they were hit with an aftershock. He reached to brace himself and kept an eye on the other two. Once the aftershock stopped, they were on their way to the hospital.

“That was a big one,” said Noreen. She glanced towards to the brewery. “I hope no one else got hurt.”

“Me too,” he said checking on Marta. He wanted to tell the ambulance driver to stop so he could go check on Claire, but he knew he had responsibilities to attend to. He did pull out his phone and send her a text to make sure she was okay. He hoped she would be able to find a minute to answer him but knew that it could be a while.

He returned to the hospital just in time to prevent Morgan from permanently damaging her hands. After completing the surgery for the ectopic pregnancy, he was in constant motion between the ER and OR. Between surgeries he got a moment to glance at his phone and saw a response from Claire telling him that she was okay. A weight he hadn’t even realized was lifted from his chest knowing that she was safe.

A few hours later, he ran into Audrey. He filled her in on what had happened at the hospital and how Morgan had almost performed surgery to save someone’s life.

“I’m glad you got back in time to stop her.”

“Me too. How are the rest of the residents doing?” he asked. He really wanted to ask specifically about Claire, but since the favoritism complaint he tried to be more aware of how their relationship was perceived.

“Shaun almost drowned and ended up amputating the leg of the woman he found. We need to talk to him about following the procedures to stay safe,” she said. He could see the exhaustion in her eyes. “Park might be asking for a transfer to be closer to his son.” She explained what had happened with the young man.

Neil couldn’t imagine what Park was going through. “That’s horrible. Has he talked to his son yet?”

“I don’t know,” she answered. “I haven’t seen him since we left the brewery.”

He hesitated before asking, “How’s Claire?”

“Exhausted like the rest of us. She helped a lot of people out there.” She sighed. “I know what you said before about there being nothing going on with you two, but I saw you guys with Marta.”

“She’s an excellent surgeon. I was lucky to have her there with me.”

“Neil,” she said, rolling her eyes. “We’ve known each other a long time. Be honest with me. Are we going to have to have a different conversation about your relationship with Claire? Tragedies have a way of bring feelings out that you may want hidden.”

If he was being completely honest, he would admit that he wanted more than just friendship with Claire, but it wasn’t that simple.

“I don’t know,” he answered. “I care about her, and if she wasn’t my resident,” he stopped fearful that he had revealed too much.

With a tired sigh, Audrey said, “That’s what I thought. We will discuss this later and see if we can find a way to make it work.”

“Really?” he asked surprised.

“Everyone deserves a chance to be happy,” she said with a sad smile.

He watched her walk away wondering if there was a way to be with Claire without it impacting her career. Pushing the thoughts away, he went back to treating patients.

Eventually, things started to slow down in the ER as most of the most serious injuries have been taken care of. He hadn’t seen Claire since he had left the brewery and wanted to check on her. As another shift of doctors came in to take over, he also wanted to make sure that she would go home and rest. It wasn’t always easy after a disaster like this to be able to process and sleep.

He walked towards the lounge to see if Claire was there. He stopped when he saw her hugging a crying Park. He hung back so they wouldn’t see him, to give Park some privacy. After a few minutes he left. Neil walked into the lounge.

“Hey,” he said.

“Hi,” she said, wiping away her tears. “He was just talking about taking a few days off to go see his son. I think he is going to see about transferring.”

He nodded. He understood why Park would want to be by his family after what happened. He didn’t stop to examine the fact that all he wanted was to be near Claire.

“How are you doing?”

“I’m fine.” He gave her a look. Rolling her eyes, she added, “I’m exhausted.”

“Me too.” He sighed. “It’s been a long day.”

He sank down into the chair and realized this was the first time he had sat down in hours. 

“Sit down,” he told her.

“I’m afraid if I do, I’ll never want to get back up.”

“I’ll get you when it’s time.”

With a small smile she sat down in the chair across from him. She let out a sigh of relief.

“What a day.”

“You did good work out there.”

“Thanks Neil.”

They sat in silence for a little while just taking comfort in the others presence. He watched her and could tell she wanted to say something. He felt something shift in the room as she sat up and leaned towards him.

“I have to tell you something,” she said, her eyes filling with tears.

“Don’t,” he said, his voice breaking.

She looked startled and one tear rolled down her cheek. He hated to cause her pain.

“Not here,” he continued.

She took a shaky breath. “Okay.”

He stood slowly, his body protesting the movement. He reached out to pull her from her spot. “Let me take you home.”

She nodded as she wiped away the last of her tears. They walked to the locker room together, grabbed their things and made their way to his car. He was curious about what she wanted to tell him, and hoped it was along the same lines as what he wanted. He would just rather have that conversation away from work.

They rode to his place in silence. The heartbreak of the day and the uncertainty of what she wanted to say lingered in the car. As he pulled in front of his house, he realized that he had never asked her if she minded him bringing her here. He just knew he wanted to be close to her.

“Sorry,” he cringed, “I should’ve asked you if you wanted to go to your house.”

She offered him a small smile. “This is good. I didn’t want to be alone.”

“Neither did I,” he said as they got out of the car. “Still should’ve asked you.”

She quietly followed him up to the door. She dropped her belongings on the floor and slipped off her shoes. He could see her exhaustion in every movement.

“How about you take a shower, while I make us something to eat.”

“I’m not hungry.”

“I know,” he said, “But you have to eat something. We’ve been through a lot today.”

She nodded. He went into his bedroom to grab some clothes for her to wear and lead her to the bathroom. He went into the other bathroom, showered quickly and then went into the kitchen to make some omelets. He tried to ignore the fact that Claire was here with him and in his shower. While he knew they needed to talk, he wondered if this was the best time to do it.

He looked up as she entered the kitchen. He couldn’t help smiling when he saw her in his clothes. She had rolled the pants up a few times so she wouldn’t trip. A pleasant feeling settled in his chest at her wearing his things.

“Thanks,” she said as she sat down across from him. He handed her a plate and fork.

They ate in silence the tension of what she wanted to say growing between them. Part of him wanted to have the conversation, the other part thought they should go to sleep. He enjoyed having her here with him and thought about all the future meals they could have together.

Once they are done eating, she reached for his plate.   
  
“You don’t have to do that,” he said trying to take it back.   
  
“You cooked, I clean,” she said, “Its only fair.”

He followed her over to the sink and watched as she cleaned the dishes and placed them in the dishwasher.

Breaking the silence, he asked, “What did you want to tell me at the hospital?”

“I’m really glad you weren’t at the fundraiser,” her voice quivered. “And I love you.”

He reached out and gently wiped away the tears that had fallen. He looked into her eyes and whispered, “I love you too.”

He knew things had shifted between them weeks ago, months ago if he was completely honest about his own feelings. He thought back to what he had told Shaun about how falling in love just happens over time. He pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her. He brushed his lips against the top of her head.

Reluctantly, he let her go. “It’s been a long day, we should talk more after we get some sleep.”

“Okay,” she said, reaching out to take his hand.

He walked her towards the guest room. “You can sleep in here,” he hesitated, “Or,” he looked towards his bedroom.

Her eyes followed his gaze. “I’d rather stay with you,” she said softly.

“I’d like that,” he answered pulling her towards him again.

They walked to his room and got ready for bed. They both climbed into bed and settled on their sides looking at each other. 

He reached out and caressed her face. “Get some sleep.”

She reached up and took his hand. “You too.”

After the day’s events, they both quickly fall asleep.

When he woke up, he realized that sometime in the night they had moved towards each other. Her hair brushed up against his face, and to his embarrassment, he realized that his hand had made its way up under her shirt resting against her back. Even though they had both expressed their feelings towards each other, he knew he should move away.

Instead, he gave himself a moment to enjoy the feel of her in his arms. He had needed her to be the one to make the first move. With him as her boss, he never wanted her to feel pressured or like she had to do something she didn’t want to do. Without thinking, he began to rub his hand up and down her back.

“Stop,” she mumbled as she snuggled closer to him. “It’s not time to be up yet.”

He glanced over at the clock. “We’ve been a sleep for a few hours.”

She shook her head, her hair tickling his face. “Not enough.”

He laughed, “Someone’s not a morning person.”

“It’s a good thing I like you,” she muttered wrapping her arm around his waist.

“I like you too,” he said with a smile as she fell back asleep against him.

Part of him was relieved to delay the conversation they needed to have. It felt good to just enjoy having her beside him without any worry of consequences or fallout. Seeing all the loss during the earthquake, he knew they would regret if they didn’t at least try to see if they could make it work. 

He delayed getting up for as long as he could. He quickly realized that he would be happy to simply hold her in his arms for the rest of his life. He got up to use the bathroom and then went to make coffee. As he was preparing her cup, she walked into the kitchen. If he thought she looked incredible in his clothing last night, she looked even more amazing looking a little sleepy with her hair messed up.

He motioned for her to move to the sofa. He handed her the coffee and settled down beside her. Both were silent for a moment as they took a few sips of the coffee. He knew they needed to talk about their future, but for a few moments he just enjoyed being beside her. He thought about the future where he could spend every day like this.

She looked at him as she took another sip of her coffee. With a sigh she sat down her cup and turned to face him.

“I love you,” she said with a smile.

He was certain he would never get tired of hearing that from her. “I love you too,” he couldn’t stop his matching smile.

“If the earthquake hadn’t happened yesterday, I wouldn’t have told you that.”

He nodded. He understood. While the earthquake didn’t cause these feelings to develop, it helped to push them to realize the importance of sharing what they wanted.

“If you hadn’t said it first, I wouldn’t have either,” he admitted. “I’ve felt this way for a while.”

“Me too.” She sighed. “I spoke to my therapist about it.”

He was surprised. While she didn’t share everything, she discussed with her therapist, she usually talked to him about something she had learned or realized.

“When was that?” he asked.

“After the surgery with Finn.” She looked away. “I went to Dash’s house for dinner afterwards, and I couldn’t stop thinking about how much I wanted it to be you. I wish I could say that had been the first time the thought crossed my mind, but it was the first time I thought about what it meant.”

“I thought I had overwhelmed you.” He had meant every word about her making him a better surgeon and person. “You rushed out pretty quickly.” They had never talked about what he had said.

“I didn’t know what to say to you,” she admitted. “I kept insisting that we were just friends, and I kept having these feelings that went beyond friendship. I told myself it was just me, but then you said that and I wasn’t so sure any more. I told Dash it had been a long day and went right to my therapist.”

“Did talking to her help?”

She nodded. “She helped me think through everything. I broke up with Dash the next day.”

He knew they had ended things, but she had never given him the details.

“You didn’t tell me that.”

“I wasn’t quite sure how to, without admitting what I felt.” She reached out for his hand. “I was afraid I would ruin this. You mean too much to me. I thought I could be happy with us just being friends.”

He interlaced their fingers. “Me too,” he said. “I thought being friends with you was better than nothing.”

She looked down at their hands, “I just keep thinking about what would have happened yesterday if you had been there.” She took a shaky breath. “If something had happened to you…”

He tugged on her hand to bring her into his arms. He felt her body shake with her sobs. He wrapped his arm around her and gently rubbed his hands up and down her back.

“I’m fine,” he whispered, “We both are.”

He held her until her tears stopped. She sat up and wiped away the remaining tears. His heart ached at seeing her upset. He tried not to think about all they could have missed out on if things had worked out differently yesterday.

“What do we do about work?” she asked.

He sighed. “We’re going to have to tell Audrey.”

Claire made a face. “That’s going to be awkward.”

“No,” he said, “She already suspects.”

She frowned. “Nothing has happened.”

“I guess she noticed what we were ignoring. It’s not going to be easy Claire.” He took her hand again. “You’re a brilliant surgeon. I never want anyone to doubt that because we are together.”

“This can’t be the first time that a resident and an attending fell in love,” she said. “What has happened before?”

“I don’t pay too much attention,” he admitted with a shrug. “I think I go talk to Audrey, and probably Glassman and Andrews too, to see what they say. And then it would be a trip to HR where they ask a lot of personal questions.”

“I can go with you.”

“Let me do it,” he said. “If we go in there together, the whole hospital will know we’re together before the meeting is even over.”

“That’s true.”

“I just want to keep you safe from any fallout.”

“Neil,” she said, “You don’t have to. This is my choice. I want to be with you. Even if I have to transfer to a different hospital.”

“Never. No one else deserves your brilliance.” She moved to lay against him, and he wrapped his arms around her. “We will figure this out together. We’re a team.”

“I like that.” She snuggled closer. “I want to fight for us.”

“Me too.”

They sat for a while just basking in the knowledge that they were going to get to be together, something they both had wanted for weeks. He reached up and played with her hair as she ran her fingers up and down his arm.

“I’m scared,” she admitted softly.

“Of what?”

“I don’t have the best track record with relationships. I’m afraid of hurting you.”

He wanted to tell her that she wouldn’t, but he knew it could happen, just as he could some how end up hurting her. He knew he had every intention of doing everything in his power to make sure that it didn’t happen. He had his heartbroken twice in the past few years, yet he knew that if he lost Claire he wouldn’t recover.

“Thank you for telling me that,” he said pulling her even closer. “I want you to share with me when you feel that way.”  
  
“You’ll do that same?”

“Yes,” he promised.

If he was honest, the two of them have had a connection since she started working at the hospital. It had grown over the years, and he felt confident that they would be able to support each other. It wouldn’t be easy, but they would figure it out. As he held her in his arms, he thought about what the future would bring. All that mattered was that she was by his side.


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Claire and Neil return to work.

After having a day off work to rest and recover from the earthquake, Neil and Claire were ready to return to work. They had spent their day off together simply enjoying each other’s company and talking more about their hopes and fears.

Now, that it was time to return to work, he was nervous about the conversation he needed to have with his coworkers. He had spoken to Audrey earlier and told her it was time to have that conversation. She had laughed at him and said she would bring in the others first thing in the morning.

As he pulled into the parking lot, Neil could tell that Claire was also nervous. He realized that this would have a greater impact on her career than his. He reached over and took her hand.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes,” she said squeezing his hand. “Just want to get this part over with.”

Having gone through it before, he understood what she meant. It was invasive to have to share their relationship and answer questions from the HR department. While he felt that their coworkers would be supportive, it wouldn’t be easy.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to go with you?” she asked.

He shook his head. “I’ll talk to them first and see what they think we should do, then we can go to HR together.”

“Sounds good.”

He leaned over to kiss her, but she held out her hand to stop him. She looked around to see if anyone else was in the parking lot. 

“I thought we agreed not at work,” she said softly.

“Technically, we’re not at work yet.” He could see the concern in her eyes about them being caught. “Later then.”

She smiled at him as they got out of the car. They walked in together discussing possible plans for dinner that night. She went to put her stuff away and he went to join the meeting with the others. As he walked into Audrey’s office, he regretted not having Claire by his side. The three of them were all ready sitting waiting for him.

He offered them a small smile as he sat down at the table.

“I already filled them in on the change in your relationship with Claire,” Audrey started. “We think that if we make some changes and have her work solely with the three of us that will help some of the fallout. You still have to go down together to HR, but we’re willing to support you.”

He looked around at his three coworkers, surprised by how easy it went with them.

“That’s it?” he said in disbelief.

Andrews took a sip of his coffee, “Honestly, I’m surprised we haven’t had this conversation earlier.”

Glassman nodded his agreement. “How long have you two been together?”

“Two days,” he answered.

“Really?”

Neil rolled his eyes. Just because he had feelings for Claire much longer than he wanted to admit, he was still a professional.

Audrey laughed, “I told you.”

He thought back to her words after the favoritism complaint and how she saw he had a problem before he did. Not that he ever really thought it was a problem. Claire was a gifted surgeon, of course he wanted to have her by his side during his surgeries. The bonus was that he got to spend more time with her.

They spent some more time crafting a plan to take to HR to show that they were going to work to minimize any conflicts of interest. Of course, they were not to advertise their relationship around the hospital and absolutely no PDA. Claire would report mainly to Andrews and Lim, but if Neil needed her for a surgery or had an important learning opportunity, one of them would need to scrub in as well. He was disappointed, but knew it was worth it to be able to build the relationship with her that he truly wanted.

As they were finishing up, there was a knock at the door. Audrey called for them to come in. He looked up, surprised to see Claire. 

“I’m sorry to interrupt,” she said. “I needed to talk to Dr. Andrews about the test results for Ms. Williams.”

Andrews took the tablet from her, “I thought she was Murphey’s patient? Why are you bringing me these?”

She hesitated before responding, “He said he had an emergency to take care of.”

Neil went to ask her why she was covering for him, but she shook her head at him telling him with a look to be quiet. With a sigh he kept his mouth shut as Glassman excused himself to go check on Shaun. And they thought he showed favoritism to Claire.

Andrews read through the results and told Claire to go prep the patient for surgery. Since she took care of the patient, she will be scrubbing in. She left to get ready.

Andrews turned to Neil. “Are you sure it’s only been a few days?”

He frowned, “What do you mean?”

“It took my wife and I years to master conversations without saying a word,” Andrews laughed as he went to join Claire for surgery.

“I told you,” Audrey said. “There has been something between you two for a while.”

He shrugged. She wasn’t wrong, his connection with Claire had been building for some time.

“Thank you for you support,” he said, “It means a lot to me.”

“I know its going to be rough for you two, but I’m happy for you.” She smiled. “As long as Claire doesn’t mind us still going out for drinks sometimes.”

“Should be fine,” he said. While he had been happy when the two of them were together, he had come to realize that they were much better as friends.

Audrey told him that she would talk to HR for them and then they would most likely be called in one at a time to defend their relationship. They shared a look as they remembered how embarrassing that was. He knew that it was worth it, but he worried more about Claire than himself.

The rest of his day was uneventful. Audrey sent him a text to let him know that they are scheduled to go to HR tomorrow and what time they needed to be there. He hadn’t seen Claire all day and hoped she’d be coming in soon to let him know she was ready to leave.

As he finished up on some case files, Andrews came in.

“I can see why you picked Claire so often for your cases,” he said coming to sit down by his desk. “She’s really good at handling things under pressure and noticed the problem before I did.”

“I’m not surprised.”

“I wouldn’t mind keeping her as my resident.”

“Did Shaun ever make it back?” Neil asked.

Andrews rolled his eyes. “Of course not,” he sighed. “Claire handled both of their patients all day. He better be back tomorrow. With Park visiting his family, Morgan unable to operate, we already don’t have enough people.” He stood to leave. “Have a goodnight.”

“You too.”

He’s frustrated with the fact that Claire had to deal with Shaun’s issues. He knew she would never complain. As much as she hated it, there was no denying she was a soft touch. He just hoped she didn’t feel like she needed to do more to balance out the fact that they are in a relationship now.

A few minutes later, she entered his office. “Are you all done?”

He nodded. He could see that she was exhausted. “Want to pick up some dinner on the way home?”

He realized after one night of having her sleep beside him, he was already making plans to keep her there.

“Are you planning another sleepover?” she asked with a smile.

“Always.”

“Can we stop at my place first so I can pack this time?”

“You can just wear my clothes again.”

She shook her head. “I can’t wear that tomorrow coming to work, especially meeting with HR.”

“Good point,” he said. “We can stop there, pick up some food and then head back to my place.” He paused. “Or you would rather we stop at my place and spend the night at yours?”

“I like your place.”

They packed up their things and headed out.

“What happened with Shaun?” he asked as they got in the car.

She hesitated. With a sigh, she said, “He’s struggling after everything with the earthquake and needed a day.”

He felt like there was more to the story and didn’t like that she wasn’t talking to him. Normally, they both would share what they had dealt with throughout the day, including any challenges with Shaun.

“It’s not fair that you had to do double the work today because he just left.” She didn’t say anything. “Why don’t you want to tell me what happened today?”

She reached out and placed her hand on his leg. “Neil, you’re still our boss. I don’t want to tell you something that could affect his job.”

He understood where she was coming from, but he also wanted to be able to support her.

“I get that, but away from the hospital, I’m no one’s boss.” He took her hand. “And as your boyfriend, I want to know about your day.”

“Boyfriend?” she repeated with a smile.

“What would you call it?” he asked, as he pulled in front of her house.

“I hadn’t thought about it,” she said. “Boyfriend works.”

He laughed as they got out of the car. 

He returned to their conversation, “I want us to be able to share without fear of it affecting our work,” he said as they entered her place. 

He waited in the living room as she went to collect what she needed from the bedroom. He looked around at the pictures and knickknacks she had. He picked up a picture of her, Kayla and Dash from college. He noticed the guitar propped up in the corner and wondered if he could convince her to play for him.

“If I tell you, you can’t yell at him or tell anyone else,” she called from the bedroom.

He took a deep breath. He knew he was going to be annoyed with whatever she shared with him. They needed to be able to balance work and personal. Since so much of their time was going to be spent at the hospital as well, he would need to make sure she knew she could trust him.

“I won’t,” he said as she walked back in.

“He was having some issues with Lea and wanted to try to take care of it.”

“What kind of issues?” he asked.

She bit her lip. “How familiar are you with Shaun and parades?”

He made a face as he reached out for her bag. “More that I need to know.” They walked to the car. “Please tell me that Shaun didn’t abandon his patients to go have sex?”

Her silence as they get in the car told him everything. He knew that he had promised her that he wouldn’t do anything with what she told him, but this was ridiculous.

“You should talk to Audrey,” he began. “What he did was unprofessional and forced you to pick up his slack.”

They stop and pick up Chinese food before heading back to his place.

“If it happens again, I’ll say something. He really is struggling.”

He shook his head. Struggling or not, leaving work for sex was inappropriate.

“It is kind of my fault he left,” she said.

He glanced at her briefly. “How?”

“He was talking about how Lea and him had sex but things didn’t happen. He said Lea told him not to worry and that she would take care of herself.”

“Ouch.”

“He told me he did the same things he had done with Carly, and I had to explain to him how everyone was different and what works for one person won’t for another.”

He couldn’t help but laugh. “I would’ve loved to have seen you trying to explain that to him.”

“After he told me it was stupid that everyone wasn’t the same, I told him that he needed to have a conversation with Lea,” she sighed. “Which then became him asking me a bunch of questions to figure out what to ask her.”

“Did you answer him?” he asked curiously.

“No,” she answered immediately. “I told him he just needed to ask Lea what she wanted and then he left.”

Shaking his head, he said, “You’re a good friend.”

“Sadly, not the strangest conversation I’ve ever had with him.”

One day he will have to ask what the strangest one was, although part of him wonders if he really wanted to know. He is curious about how she helped Shaun with this conversation.

“Have you ever told someone you would take care of yourself?” he asked.

She hesitated as she scrunched up her nose. “Never with those words, but I’ve definitely had to do it.”

“Sounds like a challenge,” he said as they pulled into his driveway. He knew when they progressed to that step should wouldn’t have to worry about her needs being met.

He grabbed the bag of food as she got her belongings. They dropped their stuff by the door and then went into the kitchen to eat. He placed the containers on the counter and got them plates to use. He noticed that she had been quiet since they left the car.

He thought back to the conversation they were having in the car and he wondered if he upset her.

He took a few bites of food before he asked. “Did I say something wrong?”

“No,” she answered.

“Then what’s the matter?”

She rolled her eyes, “It’s kind of annoying that I can’t hide anything from you.”

He smiled. “I like it.”

He didn’t want to push her, but he also knew how important it was for them to talk to each other. They had never had a problem with that before.

“You know my history with other men.”

He nodded, she had always been very open and honest with him as they had gotten closer.

“I’ve never had a relationship with someone I really cared about.”

He thought about how she had said that she had used men to feel better and realized that his teasing about a physical relationship had upset her. He was more than willing for them to take things slowly so that she was comfortable.

“Claire,” he started.

“I’m really scared of messing this up,” she admitted.

“You won’t.”

“You don’t know that.”

“And you don’t know that you will,” he says with a smirk. He stood up and went to stand beside her. “As long as you keep talking about it and telling me what’s going on. We’ll be fine. We’re going to fight, we’re going to piss each other off, but as long as we can talk about it, it will be okay.”

She nodded, tears in her eyes. He reached out and caressed her face. “We’re going to figure it out together.”

He pressed a kiss to the top of her head, hoping that he at least somewhat helped with her fears. He thought about the possibility of suggesting she talk to her therapist about her fears, but realized she probably already did. He wondered if he should offer to go with her to one of her sessions so they can talk it through together.

He went back to his seat and they finished eating. She filled him in on her day, and he refrained from making any comments about the fact that she had to put extra work in to cover for Shaun. He told her about his surgeries, and they talked about their appointment the next day with HR.

As they cleaned up from dinner, she wrapped her arms around his waist and gave him a hug.

“Thank you,” she said.

“For what?” he asked pulling her closer.

“Being you.”

He laughed, “I am pretty incredible.” She leaned up and kissed him. “And so are you.”

They stood in the kitchen with their arms wrapped around each other. He kissed her again, enjoying the feeling of having her in his arms. She pulled away with a yawn.

“See,” he said, “This is why you shouldn’t cover for Shaun.”

“I’m fine,” she said, fighting another yawn.

“Let’s get to you bed.”

She went to get her things and as they did the night before they get ready for bed. Once they have climbed into bed, she turned on her side to face him.

“I’m sorry I’m not ready for more,” she said softly.

He tucked her hair behind her and caressed her face. “You’re worth the wait.”

She smiled at him and he pulled her closer as they drifted off to sleep.


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Neil and Claire meet with HR.

His alarm woke him up. He reached over to turn it off as Claire groaned against him.

Even though it had only happened a few times, Neil was beginning to find that waking up with Claire in his arms was his favorite way to start the day. He brushed his lips against her forehead.

“Good morning,” he said softly, “We have to get up.”

She shook her head against his chest and snuggled against him. As tempted as he was to stay in bed with her, he knew they needed to start their day. He wanted to make sure they had time for breakfast before heading to work. He gently pushed her away so he could get up. He laughed as she reached for his pillow to hold instead of him. 

He got himself ready for work and went to the kitchen to make them breakfast. As he fixed the coffee, Claire came in.

Holding out the cup to her, he said, “So this is the secret to getting you out of bed.”

She took the cup from him and took a sip. “Good morning.”

He finished up making breakfast as she drank her coffee. She went to fix herself another cup and seemed much more awake. He thought he knew her pretty well after the years working together and then their growing friendship, but he loved that there were still new things to learn. Like there was no point talking to her without her first having coffee.

He placed a plate of French toast in front of her. She looked up at him with a smile. “You are spoiling me.”

He smiled back at her. “I’m happy to,” he said giving her a kiss. He sat down at the table and started eating. 

“This is delicious. I can’t remember the last time I had French toast.”

“Really? What do you normally do for breakfast?”

“Drink coffee and grab something when I get to work.” She shrugged. “I can’t cook. Growing up it was always about what was convenient and cheap. We didn’t really do a lot of home cooked meals.”

“I can teach you, if you’d like.”

“Or you can just keep feeding me.”

He laughed, “Or I can do that,” he thought about all the different meals they would be able to have together.

They finished up their breakfast and Claire quickly got ready for work. They moved around each other in his space as if they had been getting ready together for years, which if he considered the time they spent in the OR together, it made sense.

As they leave to head to the hospital, he started to feel nervous about their meeting with HR. He had been able to push it from his mind as he distracted them with breakfast, but now he worried about the outcome.

They were both quiet in the car as they realized the implications of the first part of the day.

With a sigh, she asked, “What should I expect with HR?”

He explained that they would be going in separately to answer questions to make sure this was a consensual relationship. With him having a position of power over her, they would want to make sure that she hadn’t felt pressured into it.

“What if they don’t approve?” she asked softly.

“Then we figure it out together,” he answered. He wished that he could be more confident about the outcome. He knew that Audrey and Glassman had already given their statements about the relationship, so he hoped that would offer them some support.

“I could transfer.”

He reached out for her hand. “Let’s see how this goes today before we start worrying about what we have to do.”

He didn’t want to admit to her that he had already been thinking about the possibility of it not working out with HR. He would never want her to be the one to leave, and as much as he loved working there, he knew he would be able to find a position elsewhere. His hope however, was that the hospital realized that both of them were valuable and they wouldn’t want to lose either one of them.

He brought her hand up to kiss it. “No matter what happens today, I love you.”

“I love you too.”

He wished they could kiss before leaving the car but knows that Claire didn’t want to risk anyone seeing them. She went right to HR to talk to them and he went to his office to review his patient files for the day. After about forty-five minutes, he got a page to come to HR. 

He saw Claire as he walked out of the office, but he knew he couldn’t stop to talk to her. She looked more annoyed than upset, so he guessed that things went as well as they could.

He was grateful that the person he spoke with was different than when he had come with Audrey. Of course, that didn’t stop her from bringing up the fact that he was once again in a relationship with a colleague, and this time with his resident. She asked him questions about how the relationship developed, how long it had been going on, and about the nature of the relationship. 

“Why declare your relationship now?”

“We don’t want to hide it,” he answered. “I’m in love with Dr. Browne and we want to be able to explore what a relationship would be like without sneaking around or having it affect our work.”

“I see that there was a favoritism complaint a few weeks ago about you and Dr. Browne. Were you in a relationship then?

“No,” he answered. “We had developed a friendship outside of work. We would go running together. There was no merit to that complaint.”

“But now you are saying you are a couple. What can you do to prevent others from seeing it as favoritism? Or to see that Dr. Browne is looking to further her career?”

He took a deep breath so help calm himself. He knew that she was just doing her job, but it frustrated him that his relationship was being viewed in this way.

“She doesn’t need my help. Dr. Browne is an incredible surgeon, you can ask any of the other attendings.” He thought about all the times she had shown him her brilliance. “She is a compassionate person, who goes above and beyond what is expected.”

She took notes about what he was saying. He wished he could see what she was writing.

“At any time, have you coerced or used your position as her boss to make Dr. Browne feel like she has to be in a relationship with you?”

“Of course not. We both want this.”

She continued to ask him some more questions about the nature of their relationship. She asked the same questions worded differently to make sure his answers were consistent. He kept telling himself that it was all worth it, and if he lost his temper, he could lose everything.

Finally, after an hour of questioning, she told him that they were going to sign off on the relationship, but he would no longer be her attending. They would have to limit working together, unless supervised by another attending. If there were any complaints about their relationship interfering with work, then it would be reevaluated.

“Thank you,” he said as he got up to leave.

“Dr. Melendez,” she called, “I hope I don’t see you again.”

He smiled, “Me too.”

Drained after the long meeting, he went down to the ER to start seeing patients. At the nurses’ station he saw Claire and Shaun reading over a patient’s chart. Neil really wanted to say something to him but would never betray Claire’s trust. However, if it happened again, he would have to try to encourage her to go speak to Audrey. He knew that Claire could fight her own battles, but he also didn’t want her to be taken advantage of.

“Dr. Murphey, Dr. Browne,” he said as he joined them. 

He wished that the could get her alone to share the good news about being cleared by HR, but instead he just smiled at her and hoped she realized what it meant. 

Her smile lit up her face as she twisted one of her curls around her finger. He really wished they could be alone.

“I have an idea,” Shaun said suddenly taking the chart and leaving.

‘He seems back to normal.”

She sighed. “He had a much better day yesterday, which he has told me all about.”

“Glad it all worked out.”

“Me too.”

Not wanting to draw to much attention to them, he told her he would see her later and she went back to working on her patient with Shaun and Andrews.

The rest of the day was uneventful, and he was able to help many people. He missed having Claire beside him, but it was worth it to have her there when he went home.

She entered his office at the end of the day just as he got a page for an emergency surgery. He wished he could ask her to scrub in with him but knew it couldn’t happen.

“I guess I’ll see you tomorrow then” she said softly.

“Or I can give you my key and see you when I’m done.”

She smiled. “That would give me a chance to go through all your things.”

He laughed, “You already know everything about me.”

He gave her his spare key and told her he would see her later. He hated not being able to kiss her goodbye. Pushing all thoughts of their relationship away, he went to scrub in.

Hours later, his patient was sent to the ICU for recovery. Exhausted, he quickly grabbed his things and headed home. A warmth settled in his chest as he realized that Claire would be there waiting for him.

As he walked into his house, he saw her things by the door. He went into the living room and smiled when he realized she was asleep on the sofa. He stood there for a few minutes just watching her sleep, one of his medical journals draped across her chest.

He went over to her and knelt beside the sofa. He caressed her face as he bent down to kiss her forehead.

“Hey,” he said softly. “Time to wake up and go to bed.”

“Or we can just stay here,” she mumbled.

“Don’t make me carry you,” he said as he ran his fingers up and down her arm.

With a groan she sat up. “Fine, your bed would be better anyway.”

He helped her stand up and wrapped his arm around her pulling her close. She rested her head against his shoulder.

“How did it go?” she asked.

“Patient’s in recovery. I’ll tell you all about it in the morning.”

She nodded against him. He went to get ready for bed, while she climbed into be. He soon joined her and reached to draw her into his arms. As they had the past few nights, they fell asleep in each other’s arms.


	4. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Neil realizes that things aren't going as smoothly at work as he thought.

Neil and Claire had gotten into a routine in the morning. He always got up first, got dressed, and made them breakfast. She only got out of bed once the coffee was ready. He hadn’t quite figured out how she timed it so perfectly.

Almost every night since the earthquake, she stayed with him. She had started to leave some of her stuff at his place. He figured they would eventually talk about her just moving in, but he didn’t want to rush her. For now, he was fine with her stuff gradually coming over. Waking up with her was the best way to start the day.

It had been two weeks since they had gotten HR to sign off on their relationship. Neil felt that things were going smoothly at work as more people learned about their relationship. The hospital was full of gossips, and he knew there were plenty of rumors going around about them, but he was able to ignore them. He no longer got to interact much with Claire at work, but she hadn’t mentioned anything, so he believed that it was going well for her too. 

She walked out of the bedroom and he handed her the coffee mug.

“Thanks,” she said reaching up to kiss him.

He wrapped his arm around to pull her closer. “I heard Morgan is officially back today.”

“Yeah,” Claire said with a sigh. “She was there yesterday too. She’s on light duty as she finishes up her physical therapy.”

She had a look on her face that he couldn’t quite read. He knew that Morgan and her had a rocky relationship but he thought they were more like friends since Morgan had been off healing.

“Did something happen yesterday?”

She opened her mouth to say something and then shook her head. “It’s fine.”

“It’s not fine, if you’re upset.”

“I’m not upset,” she said, pulling away from him.

“Well, you’re definitely not fine.”

She put her cup down and turned to him. “Morgan and I had a disagreement yesterday. It’s nothing.”

“Then why don’t you want to tell me?”

“Sometimes things are going to happen at work and I’m not going to tell you. Just like I’m sure you there are things you can’t tell me.”

“Did Morgan say something about us?” He moved closer to her. “Did something happen?”

“It doesn’t matter. I need to go get ready.”

He felt thrown off balance having a fight with her first thing in the morning. He understood where she was coming from in not always being able to share specific conversations about work, but this felt more personal. He wondered if she was hiding more from him than just this one conversation. Maybe things hadn’t gone as smoothly as he thought. 

They walked into work together but went their separate ways. He wanted to pull her aside and make sure she was actually okay but figured that would make things worse.

Later he noticed that when she came to the nurse’s station, Alex and Morgan stopped talking and turned away from her. The last thing he ever wanted was for their relationship to cause problems for her, and for her to feel like she couldn’t come to him. He wanted to go over to them and tell them that they could trust Claire, but he knew that wouldn’t be appreciated.

As he continued about his day, he was more mindful of Claire and her interactions with the others. It appeared that it wasn’t just the other residents who stopped talking when she got close, but some of the nurses too. He was frustrated with himself for not noticing it sooner and would have to talk to her about it at home.

He was going over some test results with Shaun when he heard a commotion coming from nearby. He turned to see what was happening and he saw an irate family member with Claire. His first instinct was to go over and put himself between the two of them but hesitated because he did not want to start any drama.

He sent Shaun off with directions of what medications to try for their patient, while keeping an eye on the situation with Claire. When the guy took a step closer to her and Claire flinched, he went over to intervene.

“Is there a problem here?” he asked, positioning himself closer to Claire.

“No,” the guy said turning to return to the room.

“No,” she said turning to leave as well.

“Claire,” he started.

“It’s fine Dr. Melendez.”

He frowned because it’s been a long time since she had addressed him that way. He watched as she walked away unsure what he was supposed to do next. He was then paged to Audrey’s office.

“What’s wrong?” he asked as he entered her office.

“Shut the door and have a seat.”

“Am I in trouble?” he asked.

“I don’t know. Did you interfere with Dr. Browne and a family member of her patient?”

He rolled his eyes, nothing was ever a secret here. “He was being aggressive.”

“Neil, you can’t do that and make a scene.”

“All I did was ask if everything was okay.” He stood up. “I was protecting a coworker.”

“No, you were protecting Claire.”

“Same thing.”

“You know it’s not. We talked about how this wasn’t going to be easy. You know how the gossip mill is around here. You don’t want to make this harder on her.”

“So next time you just want me to let her get hurt?”

She sighed. “That’s not what I’m saying. You just can’t be the one to intervene. You don’t want to give anyone any cause to say there is conflict of interest or favoritism.”

“Anything else?” he asked annoyed.

“Not now,” she said. “Just be careful.”

He left her office and needed some fresh air. He went out to the balcony to calm down before going to see patients. He was glad to see Claire out there so he could talk to her.

As he walked to stand beside her, she turned to leave.

“You don’t need to go just because I’m here.” He thought of her words that day at the bar and was so glad he had gone back to her.

“Yes, I do,” she said shaking her head. “People are always watching us, just waiting for something to take to HR.”

“We’re two coworkers talking.”

She rolled her eyes. “That’s not what this is, and you know it.” She took a step away and then turned back to him. “I had everything under control. He’s just worried because his wife wants a risky surgery and he’s afraid she’s going to die.”

“That doesn’t give him the right to be in your face like that.”

“I don’t need you to protect me.”

“You were uncomfortable,” he said moving closer to her. “I needed to make sure you were okay.”

He had seen her frustrated with him numerous times throughout the years to realize that she incredibly annoyed with him. 

“I don’t understand why you’re mad,” he finally admitted. 

“If it had been Morgan, would you have intervened?”

“Of course.” She glared at him and he sighed, “I might not have noticed if it was Morgan.”

He had seen other patients get upset with the residents, while he would be mindful of them, he doubted that he would have watched so closely if it hadn’t been Claire.

“Everyone is watching to see if our relationship is going to affect work. They are just waiting to be able to say there is favoritism or that I have an advantage.” She sank down onto the bench. “And it sucks.”

He sat down beside her, careful not to be too close even though he wanted to put his arm around her to comfort her.

“The other residents don’t want to talk like we did before. I think they are afraid that I’ll say something to you and that will mess up their careers,” she continued. 

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked softly.

“Because it’s not simply telling my boyfriend. If I tell you what’s going on, you have the power to do something. I tell you someone is making snide comments and you could choose to kick them out of surgery.”

He’s frustrated that this had been going on and he had no idea.

“You are the kindest, most compassionate person in this entire hospital. It is ridiculous that they are treating you this way.” He stood up and moved against the railing. 

“They feel I have an extra advantage now.”

“We don’t even get to work together anymore. I could…” He stopped himself and took a deep breath. “I could do absolutely nothing and let you handle it.” He moved to sit beside her again. “I’m sorry that I’ve made things harder on you, that’s the last thing I want.”

He was angry with himself for assuming that since no one had said anything to him, that she was safe as well.

“I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you it’s been difficult lately.” She sighed. “I didn’t like not telling you.”

“Maybe you can tell me some of it. I don’t want you to go through this alone.”

“I’ll try.”

“I really want to hug you right now,” he said softly.

She smiled. “I’d like that.”

She moved her hand so that he could hold it, but if anyone walked by, they wouldn’t notice. 

“You still coming over tonight?” he asked

“Of course.”

They sat together for a few more minutes, before she got up to leave. He stayed out there to think. His fear about their relationship impacting her career were coming true. He hoped that as more people realized that they were professionals, that they would begin to treat her with the respect she deserved.

Neil was glad that the rest of the day went by without incident. He continued working with Shaun and did his best not to pay attention to Claire. He wanted to ask Shaun about how the other residents were treating her, but knew he had to leave it alone.

He was relieved at the end of the day, when Claire came to his office ready to leave. They quietly made their way to the car.

As they drove home, Claire broke the silence. “I got in a fight with Alex and Morgan.”

“What happened?”

“I told them I was tired of them acting like children and that just because we’re together now, it doesn’t change anything.”

“What did they say?” he asked.

“That part doesn’t matter,” she said. “We talked it out. I told them that I’m happy and I wasn’t going to let them mess that up.”

He reached out to take her hand. He was glad that she had been able to talk with the others. He realized that this was how they were going to have to balance work and personal. She would share what she could, and he would have to respect the boundaries. 

“I’m happy too,” he said squeezing her hand.

“And some of the stuff they said was right,” she continued. “It would have been easier if we waited until after residency was over.”

“Do you wish we had?” he asked as they pulled up in front of the house.

“Easier doesn’t mean better,” she leaned over and kissed him. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

They got their things and went into the house. Claire went into the bedroom to change and he went to start dinner.

A few minutes later she came out, “What can I do to help?”

He looked at her in surprise. “I thought you didn’t cook.”

“How hard can it be to cut up some vegetables for you?” She moved to wrap her arms around his waist. “You’re still going to be doing most of the work.”

“Of course,” he said laughing as he kissed her.

Just as they did in the OR, they moved around each other in the kitchen as Claire took care of chopping vegetables and he cooked the chicken.

As the worked together, he was relieved that they seemed to have moved passed the issues at work. He hoped that her conversation with Alex and Morgan took care of some of her difficulty.

And if not, then he would investigate transferring to another hospital. Giving her up was not an option.


	5. Chapter Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A quiet day at home.

Over the next two weeks, Neil and Claire had found a way to balance their professional needs with their personal ones. After her argument with Morgan and Alex, they seemed to realize that Claire was not getting any special treatment. He did not get to interact with her much at work, which seemed to make the others feel better too. It frustrated him that they had doubted Claire and her abilities. She didn’t need him to give her any special treatment. In fact, both Lim and Andrews had mentioned to him how talented she was and how she was a natural at patient care. Neither were things he was unaware of.

Claire had also gotten more comfortable sharing about her day, even if it involved the other residents. When sharing she wouldn’t use their names, although it was easy to know who she was talking about. He was just glad that she came to him no matter what. He was also glad that he had her to share his day with as well. Her comfort when he had almost lost a young patient, helped him more than he could ever tell her. He had thought that when they first got together that he couldn’t be happier, but he felt as if his happiness grew each day.

As he stepped out of the shower, he smiled when he looked at all her things lined up on the bathroom sink. Other than to grab a few things, he couldn’t remember the last night she had spent at her place. More of her clothes had made their way into his closet, books and magazines on the nightstand, and her guitar in the living room. The first time he had heard her play and sing, he had been blown away. He still remembered the blush on her face when he had told her how talented she was. 

He had quickly learned that while she didn’t mind him listening, it made her nervous when he watched. She had shared a story with him about how her mother always forced her to perform in front of people and she hated it, she liked for the music to be just for her. He felt honored that she was willing to share it with him. 

Neil smiled as he heard her singing. As he finished getting dressed, he allowed himself to get lost in her voice. He entered the living room and settled on the sofa with some research he was working on for a paper. He tried to concentrate, but he found that he kept looking up to where Claire sat practicing.

“What?” she asked as she caught him watching her.

“Nothing,” he smiled. “Just listening to you.”

She frowned. “Do you want me to stop so you can work?”

“No, I like listening to you sing.”

She went back to singing and playing the guitar, but he could tell that he was making her nervous. He tried to stop watching her and work, but he kept rereading the same sentence repeatedly as his gaze kept drifting back to her. He thought watching her in the OR was amazing, but this might be even better.

She sighed, putting down the guitar. “Stop staring at me.”

“Stop being so beautiful.”

She rolled her eyes, but he saw her trying to hide her smile. She came over and sat beside him on the sofa. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and drew her into his side. He brushed his lips against her hair.

“Did you ever play any instruments?” she asked.

“No,” he laughed. “No one in the family has any musical talent.”

“I could teach you.”

“No thanks. I’d rather just enjoy you.”

She pressed a kiss against his chest as she snuggled closer to him. His work forgotten, he began to play with her hair. 

“I was thinking,” he said softly.

“Uh oh,” she teased.

“Very funny,” he smiled at her. “I was thinking that you should move in.”

She sat up, “Really?”

“It seems a waste to have your place, when you’re usually here.” He wasn’t sure what to make of her silence. “Unless you don’t want to.”

He knew they had only been together a few weeks, but with her always being here, it seemed like their next step.

“I would like that,” she said as her face lit up with a smile. He couldn’t help but smile back at her.

She swung her leg over him so that she was straddling his lap. She looked at him with love shinning in her eyes, and it took his breath away. He ran his fingers through her hair as he captured her lips with his. He felt her fingers gently playing with the hem of his shirt. Her gentle caresses where enough to drive him crazy. She moved her hands and pulled off his shirt with a smile. 

He pulled back slightly so he could make sure they were on the same page.

“I love you.” She kissed him again. “I want you.”

“I love you too.”

He slid his hands under her shirt and carefully pulled it over hear head dropping it next to them. He ran his hands against her smooth skin. She shivered as he moved to kiss her again. She wrapped her arms around his neck. He held her close as he stood up to move to the bedroom. She was so beautiful, and he looked forward to the taking the next step in their relationship together.


	6. Chapter Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A surprise breakfast and talk of the future.

Neil woke up to an empty bed, which is something that rarely happened. Since Claire had officially moved in a few weeks ago, he had gotten used to waking up with her in his arms. She enjoyed her sleep and always stayed in bed to the last minute. He was also the one who would make breakfast and the coffee.

Getting out of bed, he pulled on some pants as he went to find her. Even more surprising than waking up to an empty bed, was finding her in the kitchen making breakfast.

“Good morning,” he said, laughing when she jumped.

“Why aren’t you in bed?” she asked.

“You weren’t there.” 

He loved when she would roll her eyes at him like she was annoyed but her smile showed him the truth.

“Go back to bed.”

“Not unless you come with me.”

She sighed. “I was trying to surprise you with breakfast.”

He walked closer to her frowning. He placed his hand against her forehead. “You don’t seem to be sick.”

She batted his hand away from her and turned back to what she was doing.

“I thought you hated romantics,” he said. He loved teasing her. “This seems like a romantic gesture.”

She looked nervous. “I just wanted to do something special for you.”

“Every day with you is special.”

She groaned. “I don’t know why I put up with you.”

He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. “You know you love it.”

“I love you,” she said kissing him.

He stayed in the kitchen to help her if she needed. She told him she had it all under control and had found the simplest recipe for a French toast casserole she could find. He kept an eye on it in the oven to make sure she didn’t burn it.

As they sat down to eat, he tried not to show her that he was surprised that it tasted good. She had attempted a few times to make him dinner and it had not gone well.

She beamed at him. “This isn’t horrible.”

He laughed. “Maybe you can make breakfast more often”

“No, I’ll leave that to you,” she said, laughing with him. “Just because I did it once doesn’t mean it will happen again.”

They talked as they ate catching up on the things, they didn’t get a chance to talk about the night before as they had collapsed into bed exhausted after a busy day in the ER. He shared with her his plan to go visit his sister later.

“Why don’t you come with me?” he asked.

His sister had always been an important part of his life, which Claire understood. He had been thinking for a while that it was time for them to meet.

“Are you sure?” she asked quietly. “What if she doesn’t like me?”

“Everyone likes you.”

“I remember a time when you didn’t”

He rolled his eyes. “I didn’t like what you did, I still liked you.” He reached out to take her hand. “I want my sister to get to know you.”

“Okay,” she said. “It would be nice to meet her after hearing so much about her.”

“She hears a lot about you too.”

He could see that she was still nervous as they cleaned up after breakfast. He knew that one day he was going to ask Claire to marry him, and he wanted her and Gabby to have a relationship.

They moved to sit together on the sofa. He pulled her close as they relaxed. He always loved to have her in his arms. 

“Do you think she’ll mind me being there?” she asked quietly. 

“She might at first,” he answered honestly. “I don’t usually bring anyone with me, but she knows you’re important to me.”

“You said she likes puzzles, right? Should I get her one?”

He shrugged. “If you want to. She’ll be happy if you work on whatever she’s working on.” He shook his head. “If you really want to get on her good side ask her to share some stories of when we were younger.”

She sat up. “Really? I have to go then. I’d love to hear more about you as a child.”

“Might change your mind once you hear about it,” he said laughing. “I was a bit of a handful.”

“I bet.”

“Hey, you’re supposed to disagree with that.”

She laughed as settled back against him. He ran his fingers up and down her arm as she wrapped her arm around his waist.

“Does it worry you that when you have kids, they could be a handful too?”

“Of course,” he said. “My mother always told me that would be karma.”

“How many kids do you want?”

He wished that he could see her face, to see exactly what she was thinking. It didn’t go unnoticed that she had said his kids, not their kids. He hoped that he wasn’t going to have a repeat of the conversation he had with Jessica.

“At least two,” he answered honestly. “I loved having a sister growing up.”

“I sometimes wished I had a sister. An older one who could’ve taken care of me when my mom couldn’t.”

He felt the usual pain at her words. She deserved all the happiness in the world, and he hated hearing about how much she suffered growing up.

“What about you?” he asked. “How many kids would you want?”

“Two,” she said, and he felt like a weight was lifted off his chest. “Any more than that and we would be outnumbered.”

He couldn’t stop the grin spreading when he realized she had said we. He seemed like they both wanted the same thing.

“Any pets?” he asked.

“Maybe a dog,” she smiled up at him. “A rescue.”

“I’d like that too.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes as both got lost in their visions of the future. He wasn’t sure exactly what would happen, but he knew they would conquer it together. He was excited to think about what the future would bring as it was still being written. 

The End


End file.
